Houthi Missile Strike on Park in Southern Tel Aviv Leaves 16 Injured

A missile fired by Yemen's Houthis, a group supported by the Islamic Republic, struck a public park in southern Tel Aviv on Saturday, January 1, injuring 16 Israeli citizens, including a 3-year-old girl. The Israeli army's account on social media platform 'X' shared images from the children's play area in the park and noted that the Houthis had also attacked a school in Israel in recent days, emphasizing that they would not be allowed to harm Israeli citizens. Simultaneously with the Houthi missile attack, warning sirens sounded at 3:44 AM across Israel, prompting millions of Israeli citizens to seek shelter. The Israeli army indicated that efforts to intercept and destroy the Houthi missiles were unsuccessful and that details of the incident are under investigation. Some images shared on social media show that the shockwave from the missile's impact broke windows in nearby apartments and caused minor damages. In the past week, the Houthis conducted two missile and drone attacks against Israel on Monday and Thursday. Although Israel's air defense successfully intercepted and destroyed Houthi projectiles on Thursday, December 29, the warhead that did not explode in the air hit a school in Ramat Gan, causing material damage. Shortly after this attack, 14 Israeli fighter jets, along with refueling and reconnaissance aircraft, traveled 2,000 kilometers to bomb Houthi military positions at all three ports used by the group, supported by the Iranian government, in western Yemen, resulting in the destruction of several fuel and oil depots, two power plants, and eight Houthi tugboats. For the first time, Israeli fighter jets also targeted Houthi positions in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. According to Israeli sources, all three ports used by the Houthis have ceased operations following Israel's attacks on Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel is striking the last arm of Iran's 'axis of evil' on behalf of the international community. He also noted that the Houthis 'do not only attack us, but they attack the entire world. They target international shipping and trade routes. Therefore, when Israel acts against the Houthis, it does so on behalf of the entire international community. The Americans and many others understand this well.' Netanyahu remarked that 'after Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Assad regime in Syria, the Houthis are almost the last arm of Iran's axis of evil.' Following the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 last year, the Houthis, in coordination with Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies, began their attacks on Israel and have conducted nearly 200 missile and 170 drone attacks against Israel over the past year, the vast majority of which have been neutralized by Israel's defense systems. Houthi militants have also attacked over 100 commercial vessels passing through the Red Sea, forcing many ships to choose a much longer and more expensive route around the African continent near the Cape of Good Hope instead of passing through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal.